Of Coffee and Functional Plans
by bellakitse
Summary: She lived in the shittiest neighborhood and it bugged him. For Schmoop Bingo: Coffee Shop


Title: Of Coffee and Functional Plans {1/1}

Category: Community

Ship: Jeff/Annie

Genre: Romance/Friendship

Word Count: 1859

Rated: PG-13 (For Jeff's potty mouth)

Summary: She lived in the shittiest neighborhood and it bugged him. For Schmoop Bingo: Coffee Shop

He didn't really mean to, in fact, he had made a conscious effort to ignore it. Maybe, that was his first mistake. He'd managed to ignore it till after the holidays. They had had to deal with Abed's stop-motion nonsense and the holidays being a pain-in-the-ass anyway, he had hid in his apartment with the best scotch his budget allowed him to buy. But then, the New Year had started, classes were starting up again and she lived in the shittiest neighborhood, the kind that made his seem like Park Avenue. So he had to do something, not because he cared, _cared, _he just cared. She was the one that helped him pass his classes; she kept them all focused with their eyes on the prize, leaving Greendale CC for good. If something happened to her because she picked to live in a shit hole, there was a good chance that he would never get out of Greendale and, okay, maybe he cared far more than his classes. She was Annie and she really didn't belong here, but he couldn't tell her that, she would get 'formidable' with him and go on to proclaim she could live where ever she wanted. So as proof that he was spending too much time with Abed and Troy, he developed a plan; a ridiculous and not really a functional plan that solved the main problem but put him at ease at least in the morning.

If only the coffee wasn't such shit, he could pretend that it was more about that than keeping an eye on the Disney princess of his little group of misfits. He sat by the window of a grease-stained coffee shop slash dinner. She would walk by any minute and walk in, make her way to the front and order a small hot chocolate and danish. She would sit down till it was half past seven before she would walk two blocks of pure horror to catch the bus that would take her to Greendale.

Like the creature of habit that she was, Annie Edison walked into the establishment and he used the word loosely, on schedule. Modest skirt with colorful stockings that matched, a big puffy coat that seemed to swallow her, her knitted cap, scarf and mitten, all in the same color. He found himself smiling as he watched her, so bundled up she had trouble moving and then started to frown. What if someone chased her? How would she outmaneuver them with all that crap on? Sure Colorado winters were harsh but she was taking it overboard. With resolve, he got up and came up behind her on the line, taking a deep breath and hoping his acting skills where up to snuff, he bumped into her, his hands grabbing onto her coat when he misjudged how top heavy all her layer made her and she started to tip forward.

"Oh, I'm so sorry…Annie!" He exclaimed, his mind cringing on how faked his surprise sounded. "What a surprise!"

Luckily Annie seem startled enough that she didn't pick up on it.

"Jeff?" She questioned as she turned to face him, her brow wrinkling adorably as she looked at him confused. "What are you doing here?"

"I get coffee here; they make the best coffee here." He lied.

"Oh, okay." She answered, dragging out the syllables as she looked up at him curiously.

She turned back around and placed her order, moving to the side so he could ask for another cup of the motor oil they were passing as coffee. With cups in hand, he guided her back to his small table.

"So," she started, the skepticism seeping into her tone. "You come here every morning."

"Yep." He answered, better to keep his answers short; Annie had a way of ferreting out the truth from him.

"Really? 'Cause I come here every morning too and have never seen you before."

"Then maybe it's your lucky day." He said with a winning Winger smile.

"My lucky day?" She questioned.

"Yeah." He shrugged. "You get to see me first, the group will envy you."

Annie rolled her eyes and huffed his name but he could see the corner of her lips twitching upward. Moving forward, he asked her about her holidays, Annie lit up talking about how she spent Hanukkah with her mom's side of the family, while spending Christmas day with her dad and her step-mom. She frowned when he told her about his Chinese food and liquor Christmas. Shaking off her concerned look, he talked idly about the new semester they'd be starting in an hour. He watched as she looked at her watch as she finished her breakfast.

"I should get going; my bus will be here soon." She said as she collected her things.

Jeff stood up himself, grabbing his disposable cup. Time for part two of his plan. Calling upon his lawyer aloofness, he casually offered her a ride; they were going to the same place after all. He assured himself it was the bad coffee that made his stomach dip and not Annie's bright smile as she accepted.

And that's how it started. Every morning he would find himself in the same coffee shop, lining his stomach with the organ-eroding beverage as he waited for Annie. Some mornings, he would go over homework he ignored the night before for television, sometimes not saying anything at all as they ate and then he would give her a ride to school. Annie would always give him a smile that said she knew more than she said and would always pull a sincere smile past his sarcastic face. It was a good system that worked for months; at the start, he looked forward to making sure that she was not in harm's way.

He liked all shades of Annie: Disney Annie, studious straight-laced Annie, Silly Annie, but the Annie he liked the most was the person who went one on one with Jeff. The Annie who wasn't as hyper and in a dizzy. She seemed to relax when it was just the two of them, her smiles, while as bright and as pretty as always, were more serene and at ease. He liked the Jeff he was in the morning with her too; he didn't need to spend his energy playing it cool.

He laughed when she got whip cream on her nose, causing him to dribble some coffee out of the side of his mouth and simply smiled when it was her turn to laugh back at him as she reached over the table with a napkin to wipe the side of his mouth.

So everything was going great. Annie got to school safe in the morning and he was developing a steel stomach from all the crappy coffee he was consuming. That is, until she had to ask.

"So what do you do for the almost two hours before your classes start, Jeff?" Annie asked as she took off the lighter jacket she was wearing; spring was around the corner but the morning were still chilly.

Jeff coughed as the hot bitter drink went down the wrong pipe. "Excuse me?"

"Your first class doesn't start till ten but you take me to school at eight twenty for mine. What do you do during that time?" She asked again, her face straight.

"How…did…" Jeff looked at her, taking in her arched eyebrow. He sighed as he saw formidable Annie peeking out, it was adorable but effective. "How long have you known?"

"How long have I've known that you get up two hours early when you didn't need to, to make sure you're here so you can offer me a ride, instead of waiting outside for the bus?" She asked. the sarcasm coming out as she spoke. For someone who looked like baby birds did her hair in the morning while she sang to them, she was pretty good at it. "Since the second day."

Jeff sighed again but he could feel the defensiveness rising up. "Okay, you live in a craphole of a neighborhood;_ I _would be scared shitless to live here and I didn't like the idea that you walk around here to wait for a bus, crack-whores and pimps walk these streets, Annie. It's not safe." He finished what he was saying with a slightly raised voice, causing the very likely pimps and whores to look over at them with glares.

Jeff glared right back at them as Annie blushed.

"Jeff!" She whispered, his name coming out in a high squeak. "Let's go."

Jeff allowed Annie to pull him out of the coffee shop into the street, before letting him go. He watched as she paced in front of him, not looking at him as she mumbled under her breath. He was starting to get freaked out when she suddenly stop and walked up to him, her chin up in defiance.

"You care about me."

"No, I don't." He blurted out, reflex jumping out as if they had hit his knee with a mallet.

Annie rolled her eyes. "Yes, you do."

"Nuh-uh."

"Oh brother," Annie whispered, grinning in amusement. "Hot-shot lawyer Jeff Winger just argued with nuh-uh."

"Shut-up." He answered, a smile threatening to come out at the ridiculousness of the conversation.

"I can see how you won all your cases with these skills." Annie joked.

"Annie…"

"Jeff, you… _you_ get up early to have an excuse to get me to school 'cause you worry about me being by myself. You care about me."

"I don't want to." He answered sincerely, hating the way her face fell at the word. "But I can't help it; I worry about you being safe."

Annie tried not to be hurt by his first word and tried to ignore the way the second part made her hope swell up. "It's not your job to keep me safe, Jeff."

"But I want it to be." He blurted out before he could stop himself. His heart shuttered in his chest as she gave him a blinding smile. "Annie…I"

She didn't let him finish as she leaped up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, her mouth slated over his. She went from being on her tip-toes, to her feet dangling as he wrapped his own arms around her narrow waist, holding her to him. She moaned as his tongue came out and traced her lips; granting him access, she tasted Jeff and his coffee. They stayed wrapped-up in each other until oxygen became a problem. Jeff lowered her to _earth_ that was still spinning, following her down as he leaned his forehead to hers, gulping in air.

Annie detangled her hands from his neck, while he kept his on her waist. she touched her moist lips with one hand, while his with the other, smiling against her fingers, as he kissed her fingertips. She lowered her hands, holding onto his biceps, allowing him to see her happiness which doubled as he gave her a wide, happy, childlike-grin in return.

"That coffee tastes awful, Jeff."

Jeff chuckled as he pressed a soft kiss against her lips. "It grows on you."


End file.
